Profile: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was a participant or observer in the following events:

The 23rd largest commercial bank in the country gets a package of $1.5 billion in financial assistance, in exchange for close supervision of its operations by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The aid consists of a $1 billion bank line of credit from the Federal Reserve, a $325 million loan from the FDIC written as a subordinated note to be paid off after five years and interest-free for the first year, and $175 million in other notes to a group of commercial banks. The following year, as regulators and the banking industries search for a response to a rising incidence of bank insolvency, the First Pennsylvania agreement will be seen by some as a model. [Wall Street Journal, 6/8/1981]

The Capital Assistance Act of 1982 is introduced by Sen. E.J. (Jake) Garn (R-UT) and three co-sponsors under the title, “A bill to provide flexibility to the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to deal with financially distressed institutions.” [Library of Congress, 5/20/2008; Library of Congress, 5/20/2008] The bill provides the following: Amendments to the National Housing Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act so that the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) may buy capital certificates from institutions that they regulate, for the purpose of either increasing or maintaining the capital of those institutions. Criteria that qualifying institutions must meet to receive this assistance. The criteria differ from those required by the Net Worth Guarantee Act importantly in requiring a prior net worth of three percent of assets, instead of two percent in the House version. Parameters of the initial capital certificates, and provision for the subsequent modification of those parameters at the discretion of the FSLIC and FDIC. Restriction of aid to cases in which this course of action is less costly than liquidation of the institution would be. [Library of Congress, 5/20/2008] The most important difference between the Capital Assistance Act (CAA) and the Net Worth Guarantee Act (NWGA) is that the CAA is meant to avoid the need for a Congressional appropriation of funds. Instead of establishing a Treasury account to be drawn on to fund the assistance, as does the NWGA, the CAA would permit the assisting agencies, FSLIC or FDIC, to give the thrifts promissory notes in exchange for the thrifts capital certificates. [New York Times, 5/15/1982] The Capital Assistance Act of 1982 is evidently the bill that Rep. Wylie promised several days previously would be introduced into the Senate, on the occasion of the approval by the House Banking Committee of the Net Worth Guarantee Act without the amendments that Wylie had offered for that bill. The new bill in the Senate has several features of Wylie’s amendments. [New York Times, 5/12/1982] According to Sen. Garn, Treasury Secretary Donald T. Regan also contributed to the new bill. Eventual Fate - On August 19, while under consideration in the Senate Banking Committe, the key provisions of S.2531 will be incorporated into S.2879 and passed to the floor of the Senate the next day. Bill S.2879 will be passed by the Senate on September 24, and ultimately incorporated into H.R.6267, the Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. [Library of Congress, 5/20/2008; Library of Congress, 5/20/2008]

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), banks and thrifts issued reports of a fourth quarter 2008 net loss totaling $26.2 billion as well as a $27.8 billion decline from the $575 million earned in fourth quarter 2007; it is the first quarterly loss since 1990. Rising loan-loss provisions, losses from trading activities, and goodwill write-downs also contributed to the loss as banks continue to repair their balance sheets in order to return to future profitability. While more than two-thirds of all insured institutions were profitable, earnings were diluted by large losses at a number of big banks. “Public confidence in the banking system and deposit insurance is demonstrated by the increase in domestic deposits during the fourth quarter,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair says. “Clearly, people see an FDIC-insured account as a safe haven for their money in difficult times.” FDIC-insured lenders reported net income of $16.1 billion in 2008, down from $100 billion in 2007 and the lowest since the $11.3 billion reported in 1990, the agency says. Regulators shuttered 25 banks last year, including Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest bank failure in US history. Regulators have so far seized 14 lenders this year, including eight in February. [Bloomberg, 2/26/2009; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 2/26/2009; FDIC News and Events, 2/26/2009, pp. Press Releases]

Citigroup logo. [Source: Citigroup]The latest government bailout gives Citigroup bond holders excellent terms and doesn’t provide the bank with new money. Instead, Citigroup cut expenses with the elimination of preferred stock dividends, and also converted shares into common equity at an above-market-value of $3.25, positioning itself to take the first hit if it encounters additional losses. Analysts are predicting that the company’s losses will continue to increase. Since the beginning of 2009, Citigroup’s stock has fallen 78 percent. “Debt holders could eventually be required to participate in further government-led restructuring actions,” Standard and Poor’s says. [Bloomberg, 3/2/2009] Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit tells investors that increasing the bank’s “tangible” common equity from $29.7 billion to as much as $81 billion should “take confidence issues off the table,” about the bank’s loss absorption ability. The bank lost $27.7 billion in 2008, and is predicted to lose $1.24 billion during the first six months of 2009. “There’s no difference here,” says Christopher Whalen, co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics, a Torrance, California risk-advisory firm. “It won’t fix revenue, and you’re still going to see loss rates.” Whalen says that the government’s efforts are mainly protecting other financial institutions and foreign goverments that are Citigroup bonds holders. “The taxpayer is funding the operating loss and protecting the bondholders,” Whalen notes. “The subsidy for the banks will become one of the biggest lines in Washington’s budget.” Government Should Organize Citigroup, AIG Bondholders - Whalen also says it would be better if the government organized Citigroup and insurer American International Group Inc. bondholders, since the insurer received a $150 billion US bailout, and also made a deal with the government to convert some of its debt to equity. US government investment fell by more than 50 percent, and the government plans to convert up to $25 billion of its preferred stock to common shares, gaining a 36 percent stake in the bank. At Friday’s closing price of $1.50, government investment is worth approximately $11.5 billion. The bank itself has a stock market value of $8.2 billion as of market closing on February 27. Analyst: Investors Should Avoid Citigroup Shares - Richard Ramsden, head of a group of analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, recommends that investors avoid investing in Citigroup shares: “It is unclear whether this is the last round of capital restructuring, which means that existing equity may be further diluted in the future.” The bank’s move to convert preferred shares to common equity led Moody’s Investors Service to adjust its senior debt rating for the bank from A3 to A2. Standard and Poor’s also changed its outlook on the bank’s debt from negative to stable. “Citi will face a tough credit cycle in the next two years, which will likely result in weak and volatile earnings,” S&P analyst Scott Sprinzen says. “We cannot rule out the possibility that further government support may prove necessary.” With the first two Citigroup rescue bailouts, the US Treasury bought $45 billion of preferred stock, and the Federal Reserve and FDIC guaranteed the bank against all but $29 billion of losses on a $301 billion portfolio of assets. With the third bailout, the Treasury, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and other preferred stockholders, agreed to take common stock at $3.25 a share, giving up dividends. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charles Rangel (D-NY), says: “The administration and the past administration have tried so many different ways that we can only hope and pray that this time they get it right. It seems like with the banks it is a never-ending thing.” [Bloomberg, 2/28/2009]Third US Rescue Forces Citigroup Board Changes - The Obama administration demonstrated its willingness to force changes on executives at top banks that receive taxpayer-funded rescue packages by pressing Citigroup to reorganize its 15-member board with new, more independent members. The move sends a message to Wall Street that there are consequences when taxpayer dollars are used to save them. “The government is the new boss, and the new executive committee is no longer on Park Avenue,” says Michael Holland who, as chairman and founder of New York’s Holland & Co., manages nearly $4 billion in investments. [Bloomberg, 3/2/2009]

In a speech to the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig declares that US banks’ ability to remain viable during a deeper recession—while undergoing federal government stress tests—demonstrates that most don’t need more taxpayer money. “Although the United States has several thousand banks, only 19 have more than $100 billion of assets,” Hoenig says. “After supervising authorities evaluate their condition, it is likely that few would require further government intervention.” Designed to demonstrate how much extra capital banks may need to survive a deeper economic downturn, the stress tests are to conclude by April 30, 2009, with the 19 biggest banks’ test results to be disseminated to President Barack Obama in meetings with his economic team. Hoenig reiterates his view that the government shouldn’t prop up failing financial institutions but take them over temporarily and wind them down, as with the 1984 takeover of Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. “I encourage Congress to enact a new resolution process for systematically important firms,” he says. “There has been much talk lately about a new resolution process for systemically important firms that Congress could enact, and implement it as quickly as possible, but we do not have to wait for new authority. We can act immediately, using essentially the same steps we used for Continental. An extremely large firm that has failed would have to be temporarily operated as a conservatorship or a bridge organization and then reprivatized as quickly as is economically feasible. We cannot simply add more capital without a change in the firm’s ownership and management and expect different outcomes.” Hoenig declares that calling a firm “too big to fail” is a “misstatement” because a bank deemed insolvent “has failed.” “I believe that failure is an option,” he says. After the government’s fourth rescue of American International Group Inc. (AIG), Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called for new powers to take over and sell off failing financial companies, and also called for stronger regulation to constrict risks that might endanger the financial system. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has the authority to take over failing firms, and dispose of their assets, but no such authority exists for non-banking financial firms such as a hedge fund or AIG, which have extensive links throughout the banking system. During a Q&A after his speech, Hoenig tells the audience that the Fed must be prepared to make a timely removal of its stimulus to deter a period of high inflation that could be likened to that of the early 1980s. “You cannot wait until you know for sure the economy is recovering,” Hoenig says, adding that “employment growth tends to lag” and may not be the best indicator of recovery. “We will watch every indicator of data that suggests we have a recovery under way.” He also says that if the US manages its economy well, the US dollar should remain the world’s reserve currency. “It is a matter of running your economy properly,” he says. “When the US does that, and I think we will, I think we will remain the largest, most successful reserve currency on the face of the earth.” [Bloomberg, 4/9/2009]

Silverton Bank, a commercial bank that provided major wholesale banking services to client banks, is shuttered by regulators, making it the 30th US bank to fail in 2009. Based in Atlanta, it is the sixth Georgia bank to close this year and is taken over by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which appoints the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) as receiver. Silverton was a correspondent bank that did not take public deposits or make consumer loans, but provided credit card operations, investments, and loan purchases to client banks. At its closure, the bank’s total assets are approximately $4.1 million and total deposits are about $3.3 billion. The FDIC says it has created Silverton Bridge Bank N.A. to manage bank business and minimize disruption to customers over the next 60 days; the FDIC estimates it will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $1.3 billion. Consequences of Collapse - The failure’s impact is expected to ripple through the banking industry and industry experts believe it will have catastrophic consequences for banks across the Sun Belt, potentially impacting hundreds of bank balance sheets. Founded in the mid-1980s, Silverton provided credit and deposit services for other banks, acting as a middleman for fiduciary services for 1,500 small US banks in 44 states. Services included federal funds repayments, a check clearinghouse, and loans to bank holding companies, directors, and executives. Local bank attorneys describe Silverton as a mini-Federal Reserve for community banks. Other Banks Also Closing - As the deepening recession makes it more difficult for consumers and businesses to pay their loans, local banks have closed in droves. So far, on nearly every Friday this year, there has been at least one bank failure. During the third week in April, while banks prepared for the Obama administration’s ‘stress tests,’ four regional banks closed. Despite federal commitment of amounts in the trillions to increase liquidity as well as jumpstart the economy, the speed of bank failures has accelerated. In 2008, a total of 25 banks failed, yet, in the first four months of 2009, 30 banks have failed. Prior to Silverton’s closure, American Southern Bank in Kennesaw, Georgia, was the last FDIC-insured bank to fail; it was shut down on April 24. [Marketwatch, 5/1/2009; CNN, 5/1/2009; Associated Press, 5/1/2009]

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) spent $314.3 million to shut down 16 banks in June 2009, according to reports released today. The federal insurer closed seven banks on June 25, pushing the number of bank failures for 2009 to 52, more than double the failures for all of 2008. The late June closures included six Illinois regional banks, all controlled by one family whose bank business model, according to the FDIC, “created concentrated exposure in each institution.” The FDIC says that the failure of the six family-owned banks is due to the banks’ investments in collateralized debt obligations and other losses. The failures and subsequent government takeover of the Illinois banks brought total 2009 Illinois bank failures to 12. Local and regional banks have been especially hard hit by plummeting home values that devalued mortgage-backed assets, while rising unemployment rates forced increased numbers of consumers to default on their loans. June 2009 Bank Failures FDIC Update through July 2, 2009 - Founders Bank, Worth, Illinois, with approximately $962.5 million in assets, closed. The PrivateBank and Trust Company, Chicago, Illinois, agreed to assume all deposits, approximatedly $848.9 million. Millennium State Bank of Texas, Dallas, Texas, approximately $118 million in assets, closed. State Bank of Texas, Irving, Texas, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $115 million. The First National Bank of Danville, Danville, Illinois, approximately $166 million in assets, closed. First Financial Bank, N. A., Terre Haute, Indiana, assumed all deposits, approximately $147 million. The Elizabeth State Bank, Elizabeth, Illinois, approximately $55.5 million in assets, closed. Galena State Bank and Trust Company, Galena, Illinois, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $50.4 million. Rock River Bank, Oregon, Illinois, approximately $77 million in assets, closed. The Harvard State Bank, Harvard, Illinois, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $75.8 million. The First State Bank of Winchester, Winchester, Illinois, approximately $36 million in assets, closed. The First National Bank of Beardstown, Beardstown, Illinois, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $34 million. The John Warner Bank, Clinton, Illinois, with approximately $70 million in assets, was closed. State Bank of Lincoln, Lincoln, Illinois, agreed to assume all deposits, approximaedly $64 million. Mirae Bank, Los Angeles, California, approximately $456 million in assets, closed. Wilshire State Bank, Los Angeles, California, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $362 million. MetroPacific Bank, Irvine, California, approximately $80 million in assets, closed. Sunwest Bank, Tustin, California, agreed to assume all non-brokered deposits, approximately $73 million. Horizon Bank, Pine City, Minnesota, approximately $87.6 million in assets, closed. Stearns Bank N. A., St. Cloud, Minnesota, agreed to assume all deposits, excluding certain brokered deposits, approximately $69.4 million. Neighbor Community Bank, Newnan, Georgia, approximately $221.6 million in assets, closed. CharterBank, West Point, Georgia, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $191.3 million. Community Bank of West Georgia, Villa Rica, Georgia, approximately $199.4 million in assets and approximately $182.5 million in deposits, approved for payout by the FDIC board of directors. First National Bank of Anthony, Anthony, Kansas, approximately $156.9 million in assets, closed. Bank of Kansas, South Hutchinson, Kansas, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $142.5 million. Cooperative Bank, Wilmington, North Carolina, approximately $970 million in assets, closed. First Bank, Troy, North Carolina, agreed to assume all deposits, excluding certain brokered deposits, approximately $774 million. Southern Community Bank, Fayetteville, Georgia, approximately $377 million in assets, closed. United Community Bank, Blairsville, Georgia, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $307 million. Bank of Lincolnwood, Lincolnwood, Illinois, approximately $214 million in assets, closed. Republic Bank of Chicago, Oak Brook, Illinois, agreed to assume all deposits, approximately $202 million. [CNN, 7/2/2009; FDIC.gov, 7/2/2009]

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regulators take over real estate lender Colonial BancGroup Inc. in the biggest US bank failure this year. Regulators also close four banks in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania. This increases to 77 the number of federally insured banks that have failed in 2009. The FDIC is appointed receiver of Colonial BancGroup, based in Montgomery, Alabama; Community Bank of Arizona, based in Phoenix; Union Bank, based in Gilbert, Arizona; Community Bank of Nevada, based in Las Vegas; and Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association, located in Pittsburgh. The FDIC approves the sale of Colonial’s $20 billion in deposits and about $22 billion of its assets to BB&T Corp., which is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. According to the FDIC, the failed bank’s 346 branches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas will reopen at normal times starting on Saturday as BB&T offices. A temporary government bank is established by the FDIC for Community Bank of Nevada to give depositors approximately 30 days to open accounts at other financial institutions. As of June 30, Community Bank of Nevada had assets of $1.52 billion and deposits of $1.38 billion; Community Bank of Arizona had assets of $158.5 million and deposits of $143.8 million; Union Bank had assets of $124 million and deposits of $112 million as of June 12. MidFirst Bank, based in Oklahoma City, agrees to assume all the deposits and $125.5 million of the assets of Community Bank of Arizona, as well as about $24 million of the deposits and $11 million of the assets of Union Bank, with the FDIC retaining what’s left for eventual sale. Dwelling House had $13.4 million in assets and $13.8 million in deposits as of March 31. PNC Bank, part of Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc., agrees to assume all of Dwelling House’s deposits and about $3 million of its assets; the FDIC will hold the rest for eventual sale. The FDIC expects Colonial BancGroup’s failure to cost it an estimated $2.8 billion and that of Community Bank of Nevada, $781.5 million; Union Bank, $61 million; Community Bank of Arizona, $25.5 million; and Dwelling House, $6.8 million. The 77 bank failures nationwide this year compare with 25 last year and three in 2007. As the economy spiraled downward, bank failures increased seismically, siphoning billions out of the FDIC which, at $13 billion as of the first quarter, is at its lowest level since 1993. While losses on home mortgages may be leveling, commercial real estate loan delinquencies remain a potential trouble spot, say FDIC officials. The FDIC’s list of problem institutions soared to 305 in first quarter 2009—the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994—increasing from 252 in fourth quarter 2008. Regulators anticipate US bank failures will cost the FDIC about $70 billion through 2013. The shutdown in May of Florida thrift BankUnited is expected to cost the federal insurer $4.9 billion, the second-largest hit since the financial crisis commenced. So far, the costliest is the seizure of big California lender IndyMac Bank in 2008, where it is estimated that the FDIC lost $10.7 billion. In September 2008, the largest US bank failure was the failure of Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc. (WAMU), with about $307 billion in assets. In a deal brokered by the FDIC, JP Morgan Chase and Co. purchased WAMU for $1.9 billion. [fdic.gov, 8/2009; ABC News, 8/14/2009]

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